PennPIRG Education Fund - Transportationhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/topics/transportation
enFrom Deceit to Transformationhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/reports/pap/deceit-transformation
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PennPIRG Education Fund
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-01-18T00:00:00-05:00">Wednesday, January 18, 2017</span>
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<span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="PDF icon" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="https://pennpirgedfund.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/PennPIRG%20FInal%20Paper.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=1013468">PennPIRG FInal Paper.pdf</a></span>
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<p>Environmental Mitigation Trust: An Opportunity for Transformation</p>
<p>Volkswagen (VW) perpetrated a fraud on the American people, deceiving consumers into believing that they were getting the best possible combination of performance and sustainability. But VW’s promises were nothing more than lies that significantly harmed our collective health and the health of our environment. Yet, their deceit now represents a historic opportunity to drastically reduce harmful pollution that makes us sick, destroys the planet, and provides an essential down payment toward the transition to a clean and modern 21st century transportation system.</p>
<p>This future, however, is not assured.</p>
<p>There remains a real risk that these funds will be wasted on outdated and polluting technologies, including those that rely on diesel and natural gas, while foregoing the transition to clean, all-electric vehicles (EVs) and supporting infrastructure. Indeed, of the numerous possible uses outlined in the VW settlement, many allow for the replacement of older dirty diesel technology with new, still dirty, diesel technology, compressed natural gas, or diesel-electric hybrids.<a title="" href="#_edn1">[i]</a></p>
<p>Relative to all-electric vehicles, diesel and natural gas produce more significantly more tailpipe nitrogen oxides (NOX) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as more total emissions over their lifecycle. In fact, in 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans based on evidence that exposure increased the risk for lung cancer, highlighting the importance of transitioning away from diesel, in particular.<a title="" href="#_edn2">[ii]</a></p>
<p>Accordingly, investing in diesel and natural gas technologies with VW settlement funds would represent a significant missed opportunity to accelerate the transformation to an all-electric, clean-running transportation network that could help reduce illness, save lives, and protect the planet. The VW settlement<a title="" href="#_edn3">[iii]</a> clearly envisions and encourages such a use. For instance, the Environmental Mitigation Trust (EMT), established under the VW settlement, can be used to subsidize 100 percent of the purchase of clean all-electric buses for use in public transit agencies throughout the country. Similarly, up to 15 percent of each state’s VW EMT funds may also be invested in the acquisition, installation, operation and maintenance of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including along the states’ highways.<a title="" href="#_edn4">[iv]</a> Placing these publicly available charging stations on government owned property would allow the state to take advantage of the 100 percent subsidy provided under the VW settlement while reducing key impediments to the transition to an all-electric vehicle fleet.<a title="" href="#_edn5">[v]</a></p>
<p>Given the structure of the VW settlement and its available uses, the overwhelming need to reduce harmful emissions that make us sick and destroy the planet, along with the opportunity to accelerate a market transformation toward an electrified transportation system, our report recommends that the maximum allowable amount (15 percent) be invested in fast charging electric vehicle infrastructure and the remaining amount (85 percent) be spent on new all-electric transit buses to replace older, outdated diesel buses.</p>
<p>Ensuring that the funds are used in this way has several distinct benefits including, but not limited to:</p>
<ul><li>Drastically reducing NOx, ground-level ozone (smog), and particulate matter to protect our health and environment;</li>
</ul><ul><li>Significantly reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;</li>
</ul><ul><li>Reducing long-term fuel consumption, maintenance, and operation costs of public fleet vehicles;</li>
</ul><ul><li>Adding needed stability to the price of energy inputs for vehicles;</li>
</ul><ul><li>Increasing public awareness and adoption of EVs as cleaner alternatives to traditional gas-powered vehicles.</li>
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<p><a title="" href="#_ednref1">[i]</a> Allowable uses include replacing or repowering Class 8 Local Freight Trucks and Port Drayage Trucks; Class 4-8 School Bus, Shuttle Bus, or Transit Bus; Freight Switchers; Ferries/Tugs; Ocean Going Vessels (OGV) Shorepower; Class 4-7 Local Freight (Medium Trucks); Airport Ground Support Equipment, Forklifts, and Light Duty Zero Emission Vehicle Supply Equipment. See United States District Court Northern District of California, Partial Consent Decree, Appendix D-2, accessed at <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download">https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download</a> (pg. 208-220).</p>
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<p><a title="" href="#_ednref2">[ii]</a> World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, <em>IARC: Diesel Engine Exhaust Carcinogenic (press release), </em>12 June 2012, accessed at <a href="http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2012/pdfs/pr213_E.pdf">http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2012/pdfs/pr213_E.pdf</a>.</p>
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<p><a title="" href="#_ednref3">[iii]</a> The VW settlement refers to the partial consent decree between Volkswagen and the U.S. Department of Justice over the affected 2.0-liter vehicles.</p>
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<p><a title="" href="#_ednref4">[iv]</a> United States District Court Northern District of California, Partial Consent Decree, Appendix D-2, accessed at <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download">https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download</a> (pg. 216).</p>
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<p><a title="" href="#_ednref5">[v]</a> United States District Court Northern District of California, Partial Consent Decree, Appendix D-2, accessed at <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download">https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/871306/download</a> (pg. 216).</p>
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How Pennsylvania Can Leverage Volkswagen Settlement Funds to Accelerate the Progress to a Clean Transportation System
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Wed, 18 Jan 2017 15:42:05 +0000mroles52851 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/reports/pap/deceit-transformation#commentsGood Things Come to Those On Bikeshttps://pennpirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/usp/good-things-come-those-bikes
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-05-16T00:00:00-04:00">Monday, May 16, 2016</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p>Pull the bike out of the closet, pump up those tires, and dust off the helmet because it's Bike to Work Week!</p>
<p>More people are choosing to bike to work than ever before. Across the United States, bike commuting has increased <a href="http://www.bikeleague.org/content/new-data-bike-commuting-growing-steadily">62 percent</a> since 2000. And as more people bike, cities are starting to take note. Since 2009, the number of <em>protected </em>bike lanes (those with a physical separation between bike and vehicle traffic, not just paint lines) has <a href="https://twitter.com/GreenLaneProj/status/730125811890540544">doubled</a> every two years. It's a cycle: build more bike lanes and more people will bike; more people bike, and there's more impetus for more and better bike infrastructure.</p>
<p>There are lots of reasons to ride. Studies have found that those who cycle (or walk) to work are <a href="http://gizmodo.com/the-best-ways-to-get-to-work-according-to-science-1733796033">happier and healthier</a> than their counterparts who drive. And the health benefits far outweigh any risks. Detractors of biking often cite the risk of injury from crashes or increased exposure to air pollution as reasons biking is more dangerous, but the data shows that cycling to work is nine times more beneficial than the risk posed by accidents and air pollution combined. Biking is also better for the environment. It's an intuitive fact, but there are real benefits -- according to <a href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/green-guide/buying-guides/bikes/environmental-impact/">National Geographic</a>, “if every American living within five miles of work commuted by bike just one day a week, it would be like taking a million cars off the road entirely.” Biking is also cheaper … by a lot. Owning a car can cost you about<a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/loans/total-cost-owning-car/"> $9,000 a year</a> in fuel, tires, maintenance and repairs, taxes and registration fees, insurance, and car payments. The cost of biking includes the bike (or bikeshare membership) and some occasional maintenance and repairs which are far cheaper than car repairs. And finally, biking is a unique way to see a city, a qualitative, but real benefit. Even if you've been living somewhere for decades, seeing it from a bike will give you some new perspective on areas you may have only speed past in your car.</p>
<p>Now, in honor of Bike to Work Week, we’ll highlight some of the progress that has been made in the biking world.</p>
<p><strong>More people are biking to work:</strong></p>
<ul><li>As mentioned previously, bike commuting has increased by 62 percent since 2000, but this number doesn't tell the whole story.</li>
<li>In some cities, there have been even greater increases in biking. Between <a href="http://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/Bike_Commuting_Growth_2015_final.pdf">1990 and 2013</a>, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and San Francisco saw increase of about 300 percent. Chicago and Portland saw increases of around 400 percent. Washington, D.C. saw increases of almost 500 percent.</li>
<li>And recent news has shown that New York City saw an increase of <a href="http://www.amny.com/transit/nyc-bicycling-boom-320-percent-jump-in-daily-trips-since-1990-report-says-1.11763975">320 percent </a>in all cycling (not just commuting) between 1990 and 2014. It's no coincidence that biking numbers have risen in New York (and around the country) as bike infrastructure has blossomed.</li>
</ul><p><strong>Bikes are getting some quality infrastructure:</strong><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/greenlaneproject/"><strong><img alt="" class="media-image media-image-right" style="float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://pennpirgedfund.org/sites/pirg/files/styles/large/public/Top_%20Protected%20bike%20lane%20with%20plastic%20bollards%20separating%20vehicle%20traffic%20from%20the%20bike%20lane.%20Bottom_%20Unprotected%20bike%20lane%20with%20a%20small%2C%20painted%20buffer%20between%20the%20bike%20lane%20and%20traffic.%20Both%20Photos%20from%20the%20Green%20L.jpg?itok=f330czyW" /></strong></a></p>
<ul><li><em>Protected </em>bike lanes have doubled every two years since 2009. Today, there 283 protect bike lanes in 88 cities around the country, and that’s just a measure of one particular type of bike lane. The vast majority of bike lanes out there today are not protected (i.e. there is no physical barriers), but still give cyclists their own space on the road to use.</li>
<li>And last week in Portland, OR <a href="http://bikeportland.org/2016/05/11/protected-bike-lane-boom-nine-city-projects-will-have-physical-separation-183146?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BikePortland+%28BikePortland.org%29">nine (yes, nine!)</a> new, protected bike lane projects were announced. Oregon is somewhat unique -- it has a law that requires bike lanes to be built on most road construction projects or developers must explain why they’re not building one. The law has been around since 1971 but Portland, OR expanded on that law earlier this year. Now, according to our friends at <a href="http://usa.streetsblog.org/2016/02/01/portland-is-first-u-s-city-to-make-protection-default-for-all-new-bike-lanes/">Streetsblog</a>, “every time Portland road designers recommended a bike lane, they would need to make it a <em>protected </em>bike lane -- or else explain why not.”</li>
</ul><p><strong>Cycling is getting safer:</strong></p>
<ul><li>There have been<a href="http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1204-bikesharing-and-bicycle-safety.pdf"> zero deaths</a> involving cyclists using bikeshares in the U.S. even as bikeshares have exploded in cities across the country in recent years. Most major American cities now have, are launching, or are otherwise planning to add a bikeshare and many cities are expanding their systems as demand grows. In Boulder, CO, the number of trips in 2015 nearly doubled over the number of trips in 2014.</li>
<li>And some cities are making big investments in bike and pedestrian safety. In 2015, Boston launched an initiative to reduce the number of fatal and serious traffic crashes (including those in cars) to zero by 2030, an effort known as Vision Zero. In 2015, the city budgeted $500,000 for Vision Zero. In the 2017 budget, that number has increased by a <a href="https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2016/05/08/boston-budget-bike-pedestrian-safety-vision-zero">factor of six</a> to $3.1million. As more and more cities from Boston to San Antonio to Seattle adopt Vision Zero plans, more investments in safe biking and walking street designs should follow.</li>
</ul><p>Whether you’re a bike-to-work veteran, a first time bike-to-worker, or somewhere in the middle, let's get some fresh air on our commutes to work this week by using our bikes (or local bikeshare). Even if you can’t do the whole week, biking to work for just one day has benefits -- Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 20<sup>th</sup>. We’ll see you out there!</p>
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Thu, 19 May 2016 19:49:11 +0000sdoyle48751 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/usp/good-things-come-those-bikes#comments21st Century Transportationhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/issues/usf/21st-century-transportation
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<p><a href="http://uspirgedfund.org/page/usp/changing-transportation" target="_blank"><strong>Changing Transportation: PennPIRG Education Fund's series of reports on the dramatic changes underway in how Americans travel.</strong></a></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Americans are increasingly looking for more and better options to get around — options like expanded public transit, better biking alternatives, walkable neighborhoods and high-performance intercity trains. But while our transportation preferences are changing, too often our transportation policies are stuck in the past. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Our work has helped to educate the public about the changing ways we get around and the need for policy reform to respond to and encourage further transformation. Our nation’s highway-focused transportation system leaves too many communities isolated from opportunity, creates too much pollution, causes health problems, and does a poor job of getting Americans where they want to go. While Americans increasingly want to live in communities with other ways to travel, our vision for a national transportation system is largely stuck in the 1950s. Instead of simply lurching from one funding crisis to the next, our nation needs to make smart choices that will prepare us for the 21st</span><span class="s2"></span><span class="s1"> century. These include a forward-looking 21st century transportation system that serves more places, is more reliable, creates less pollution and reduces global warming emissions.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Some communities across the country are responding, implementing a vision for transportation that includes things like bridges designed for walkers, bikers, trains and streetcars, but not automobiles; bus stations that are also digital hot spots; smart traffic lights that communicate with cars, and other innovative solutions.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Through a series of well researched and eye opening <a href="http://uspirgedfund.org/page/usp/changing-transportation" target="_blank"><span class="s3">reports</span></a>, public outreach, and work with local coalitions and public officials, we've pushed for more forward-looking reforms. We’ve turned the tide against wasteful highway expansion boondoggles. We've encouraged Departments of Transportation to recognize and plan for a shift toward more balanced travel choices. We’ve demonstrated the enormous benefits that have been gained so far with reductions in the nation’s volume of driving. There’s much work ahead to promote new planning and policy approaches that accomplish these goals and PennPIRG Education Fund is hard at work already. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Check out our video showcasing our work to bring about better transportation options for America's future.</span></p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QBUGkZ5uliY" frameborder="0" width="560" height="315"></iframe><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><br /></span></p>
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<p>Efficient public transportation systems like intercity rail and clean bus systems would make America’s transportation future better for everyone by reducing traffic congestion and pollution, and increasing our options for getting around.</p>
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Public transit, biking and walking for the future
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Mon, 16 May 2016 21:04:34 +0000mavila@publicinterestnetwork.org48771 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/issues/usf/21st-century-transportation#commentsDon’t Believe the Hype – Millennials’ Transportation Habits Are Changinghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/usp/don%E2%80%99t-believe-hype-%E2%80%93-millennials%E2%80%99-transportation-habits-are-changing
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-05-10T00:00:00-04:00">Tuesday, May 10, 2016</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p>You may have seen a number of news stories recently claiming that Millennials are buying up cars at record rates just like previous generations, and that they just got a late start.<sup>1,2</sup> Those reports don’t tell the whole story though. After adjusting previous studies on the topic to account for differences in the size of the respective generations measured, City Observatory found that, on a per-capita basis, members of Generation Y (born 1977 to 1994) are 29 percent less likely than members of Generation X to own a car.<sup>3</sup></p>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://pennpirgedfund.org/sites/pirg/files/styles/large/public/Generational%20Car%20Buying1_0.png?itok=gJtveV43" /></p>
<p><em>Graph based on numbers from <a href="http://cityobservatory.org/young-people-are-buying-fewer-cars/">City Observatory</a></em></p>
<p>The myth about Millennials and their car purchasing has been overhyped. According to a survey released by The Rockefeller Foundation and Transportation for America on Millennials’ perceptions and attitudes toward transportation, almost half (46 percent) of the surveyed vehicle owners said that they would “seriously consider giving up their cars if they could count on a range of transportation options.”<sup>4</sup><strong> The message is clear: Millennials are willing to rely upon non-driving modes of transportation more heavily if presented with good options.</strong> Encouraging these positive trends will lead to significant benefits including less money spent on roads and highway construction and repair, fewer traffic problems and delays, fewer crashes leading to death and serious injuries, and significantly less air and global warming pollution.</p>
<p>We have long pointed to Millennials’ changing transportation behavior as a reason to invest less in new and wider highways and invest more in critical transit, biking, and pedestrian alternatives. New and better technology, such as mobile applications that Millennials have been quick to adopt, makes it easier to use other transportation options. Changing lifestyles, choices, and preferences are also playing a key role in Millennials’ changing transportation habits.</p>
<p>The result: America has the fewest 16-year-old drivers today since the 1960s<sup>5</sup> and “a smaller percentage of Americans are licensed to drive now than were in 2008.”<sup>6</sup> State and federal government institutions should be encouraging and assisting in this trend toward driving less. By enhancing public transportation, expanding new technologies, and building more biking and walking infrastructure, we can create a more efficient transportation system that is cleaner and gives people the options that they want.</p>
<p> <br /><sup>1</sup><span class="author-name">Jing Cao</span>, “<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-20/millennials-embrace-cars-defying-predictions-of-sales-implosion">Millennials Embrace Cars, Defying Predictions of Sales Implosion</a>,” <span class="author-name"></span>Bloomberg, April 20, 2015.<br /><sup>2</sup> Derek Thompson, “<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/millennials-not-so-cheap-after-all/391026/">Millennials: Not So Cheap, After All</a>,” The Atlantic, April 21, 2015.<br /><sup>3</sup> Joe Cortright, “<a href="http://cityobservatory.org/young-people-are-buying-fewer-cars/">Young People Are Buying Fewer Cars</a>,” City Observatory, April 22, 2015.<br /><sup>4</sup> Michael Myers, “<a href="https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/blog/public-transportation-shapes-where/">Public Transportation Shapes Where Millennials Decide to Live</a>,” The Rockefeller Foundation, April 23, 2014.<br /><sup>5</sup> Laura Bliss, “<a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/04/america-fewest-16-year-old-drivers-1960s/477135/">America has the fewest 16-Year-Old Drivers Since the 1960s</a>,” CityLab, April 6, 2016.<br /><sup>6</sup> "<a href="https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm">Highway Statistics Series</a>" Federal Highway Administration, last modified May 6, 2016.</p>
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Tue, 10 May 2016 17:51:41 +0000sdoyle48696 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/usp/don%E2%80%99t-believe-hype-%E2%80%93-millennials%E2%80%99-transportation-habits-are-changing#commentsAll Americans Deserve Clean Air to Breathe, On Earth Day and Every Dayhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/usp/all-americans-deserve-clean-air-breathe-earth-day-and-every-day
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-04-22T00:00:00-04:00">Friday, April 22, 2016</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p>Today is Earth Day, the one day each year where we coalesce around the problems our environment faces and the solutions we have to protect the natural world and public health. So it’s fitting that today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is asking whether we should measure the carbon pollution impacts of local and state transportation plans. The answer is yes.</p>
<p>Acting on transportation pollution will save lives and benefit our health. In fact, transportation is the single largest source of air pollution in the U.S. That pollution already causes 53,000 premature deaths every year in the U.S. alone, according to a study from MIT.<sup>2</sup> Reducing transportation-related emissions could consequently save hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars in health care costs.<sup>3</sup></p>
<p>There is also no path to successfully combatting climate change that doesn’t involve substantially reducing transportation-related emissions. The transportation sector accounts for nearly one third of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and is the second largest source of emissions behind electricity generation.<sup>4</sup> However, unlike electricity, where significant resources have gone into transitioning to cleaner sources, transportation has received little attention relative to its share of the problem. That means that there is a lot of untapped potential to dramatically reduce pollution which will benefit our health and environment.</p>
<p>Today is the start of a <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/04/22/2016-08014/national-performance-management-measures-assessing-performance-of-the-national-highway-system">120-day public comment period</a> on a U.S. DOT rule about whether transportation planners should factor pollution, including carbon pollution, into their plans.<sup>5</sup> As we’ve said, we think the answer has to be yes. In fact, there are states and cities across the country that are already measuring and actively working to reduce emissions from transportation. California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Seattle, Chicago, and Minneapolis are among the places already acting and setting examples for how this can be done.<sup>6</sup></p>
<p>Despite the environmental and public health costs, there are voices opposed to measuring and reducing carbon pollution. Already, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association has come out opposing this proposal.7 There will also likely be opposition from a number of state DOTs that don’t want to be held accountable for the public health and climate impacts of their transportation decisions.</p>
<p>But we know that the American public broadly supports this rule. In fact, most people would probably be surprised to hear that most state DOTs and local transportation planning organizations don’t already measure greenhouse gas pollution or set targets for reducing such pollution.</p>
<p>If we are serious about protecting public health and reaching our national climate goals, we have to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from the transportation sector. We applaud the U.S. DOT for starting the conversation on this issue and support a final rule requiring all local transportation planning organizations to measure and work to reduce emissions from transportation.</p>
<p>All Americans deserve clean air to breathe and a transportation system that is clean and efficient, on Earth Day and every day of the year.</p>
<p> <br /><sup>1</sup> Union of Concerned Scientists, "<a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/vehicles-air-pollution-and-human-health/cars-trucks-air-pollution#.VxpFFkfwjSg">Cars, Trucks, and Air Pollution</a>," December 5, 2014.<br /><sup>2</sup> Atmospheric Environment Journal, "<a href="http://lae.mit.edu/wordpress2/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/US-air-pollution-paper.pdf">Air pollution and early deaths in the United States. Part I: Quantifying the impact of major sectors in 2005</a>," May 31, 2013.<br /><sup>3 </sup>Nature Climate Change, "<a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2935.html">Climate and health impacts of US emissions reductions consistent with 2 °C</a>," February 22, 2016.<br /><sup>4 </sup>U.S. EPA, "<a href="https://www3.epa.gov/otaq/climate/documents/420f15002.pdf">U.S. Transportation Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions</a>," March, 2015.<br /><sup>5 </sup>U.S. DOT, “<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/fhwa-proposes-new-performance-measures-reduce-congestion-nation%E2%80%99s-highways">FHWA Proposes New Performance Measures to Reduce Congestion on the Nation’s Highways</a>,” April 18, 2016.<br /><sup>6 </sup>NRCD, “<a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2016/160418">Obama Administration Floating Bold Idea to Reduce Transportation Pollution</a>,” April 18, 2016.<br /><sup>7 </sup>Streetsblog USA, “<a href="http://usa.streetsblog.org/page/2/">U.S. DOT Wants States to Disclose Climate Impact of Transportation Projects</a>,” April 18, 2016.</p>
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Thu, 21 Apr 2016 23:18:38 +0000sdoyle48386 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/usp/all-americans-deserve-clean-air-breathe-earth-day-and-every-day#commentsFramework for VW Settlement Announcedhttps://pennpirgedfund.org/news/usp/framework-vw-settlement-announced
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-04-21T00:00:00-04:00">Thursday, April 21, 2016</span>
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<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div>Statement by Mike Litt, Consumer Program Advocate at U.S. PIRG Education Fund, on todays announced VW settlement.</div>
<p>“Seven months after news of Volkswagen’s emission scandal broke, we're glad to hear that there is a 'framework' for a settlement in the cases related to VW's 567,000 fraudulently marketed, illegally polluting cars. This framework appears to include all of the elements that a deal should include, but the devil will be in the details.</p>
<p>Given the nature of VW's violations, a settlement needs to make consumers whole and compensate for the environmental damage while totaling a penalty large enough to discourage VW and others from this behavior in the future. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that further delay means that these polluting cars remain on the road -- emitting up to 40 times the allowable level of pollution -- for even longer.</p>
<p><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">For more details on what a strong settlement agreement ought to look like, please see </em><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><a style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;" href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement">the open letter</a>.</em></p>
<p><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"> </em>-30- <br /><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">U.S. PIRG Education Fund is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organizations that stand up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society. On the web at <a href="http://uspirgedfund.org">http://uspirgedfund.org</a>.</em></em> </p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement"><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">The letter was signed by Clean Air Watch, Environment America, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG Education Fund. </em></a></strong></p>
<p><strong style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><em style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><br /></em></strong></p>
<div>
<div>Dear Judge Breyer, Attorney General Lynch, Administrator McCarthy, Chair Nichols, and President Woebcken:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>We, the undersigned consumer, environmental, and public health organizations, write in advance of the April 21<sup>st</sup> deadline for a proposal that deals with Volkswagen’s emission scandal. We would like to submit our criteria by which we believe a proposal should be evaluated.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>After seven months since news of the scandal broke, Volkswagen still has not committed to making consumers or the environment whole again for the harm caused by its deceitful use of “defeat devices” in 567,000 “clean” diesel cars, emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of smog causing NOx pollutants. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>A proposal to hold Volkswagen accountable to consumers, our environment, and public health and that deters future violations by VW or other companies should be evaluated by the following criteria:</div>
<div>
<ol><li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Mitigate past, ongoing, and future emissions</span></span>
<ul><li>Affected cars that can be fixed to meet emission standards should be fixed. </li>
<li>Affected cars that can only be partially fixed should receive the available repair if owners choose not to accept buybacks of their cars.</li>
<li>Volkswagen should offset its past and ongoing emission violations. The future emission violations of cars that are not fixed or only partially fixed should also be calculated and offset.</li>
<li>Develop a robust in-use testing protocol to ensure that if the vehicles are repaired, the vehicles remain in full compliance for the vehicles’ full useful life, in real world driving conditions.</li>
<li>The emissions control system must not be allowed to degrade over time to exceed the standards, and EPA and CARB must assure the public that there is no further cheating by Volkswagen. <span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"> </span></li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;">Make consumers whole by offering to buy back their affected cars</span></span>
<ul><li>Simply fixing the cars still leaves customers less than whole. Whether a full or partial fix is available, the cars could get lower gas mileage and have weaker performance than promised and advertised, and the Kelley Blue Book values will likely diminish further. </li>
<li>Full compensation is a buyback at full purchase price of the cars.</li>
<li>However, VW should at least compensate owners 1.5 times the Kelley Bluebook value of the affected vehicles on the day before the scandal was discovered or publicized, as NHTSA has ordered manufacturers in some other recalls to do. </li>
<li>Bought back cars that cannot be fully repaired to meet emission standards should be scrapped.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Mitigate environmental harm caused by scrapping cars</span></span>
<ul><li>Environmental harm caused by scrapping cars should be assessed and offset</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Assess large civil penalties.</span></span></span>
<ul><li>The Clean Air Act sets a maximum penalty of $37, 500 per car or over $18 billion in total penalties. A large civil penalty will send a strong deterrent message to others not to violate the law.</li>
<li>VW should not be allowed tax write-offs for any penalties.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)</span></span></span></span>
<ul><li>In addition to offsetting the NOx emissions directly attributable to the defeat devices and offsetting environmental harms caused by scrapping cars, VW should set up Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). </li>
<li>Volkswagen would be motivated to work with the EPA to create a SEP, which could offset a portion of the civil penalties while achieving concrete pollution reductions. The SEP should direct a substantial amount of funds, perhaps calculated on a per-car basis, to create a fund for state and local governments, as well as private-sector entities, to implement projects to reduce pollution from on-road vehicles and increase deployment of zero-emission electric vehicles.</li>
<li>Any SEP should be above and beyond other remedies so automakers don’t take the lesson that all they need to do to cure cheating is to pay money as a cost of doing business. </li>
</ul></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;"><span style="font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 20.0063px;">Criminally charge responsible executives and hold the firm criminally accountable</span></span></span></span>
<ul><li>Full justice includes criminally charging individual executives who are responsible for the scandal. </li>
<li>It also includes the full array of criminal monetary penalties and other criminal remedies available under the law against the firm, not only to punish it but also to deter similar misconduct by others.<br />
</li>
</ul></li>
</ol></div>
<div>Sincerely,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Clean Air Watch</div>
<div>Environment America</div>
<div>Joan Claybrook, President Emeritus Public Citizen</div>
<div>Public Citizen</div>
<div>U.S. PIRG Education Fund</div>
</div>
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<a href="/topics/consumer-protection" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Consumer Protection</a> </div>
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<a href="/topics/make-vw-pay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Make VW Pay</a> </div>
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<a href="/topics/transportation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Transportation</a> </div>
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Devil Will Be in the Details
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U.S.PIRG Education Fund
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<div class="field field-name-field-shared-summary field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
<p>Statement by Mike Litt, Consumer Program Advocate at U.S. PIRG Education Fund, on todays announced VW settlement. For more details on what a strong settlement agreement ought to look like, please see <a href="http://uspirg.org/resources/usp/leading-groups-send-criteria-evaluating-vw-settlement">the open letter</a> that we released earlier this week with other consumer and environmental groups.</p>
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Thu, 21 Apr 2016 16:47:55 +0000klee48321 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/news/usp/framework-vw-settlement-announced#commentsOwning Fewer Cars Isn’t Just For Millennialshttps://pennpirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/usp/owning-fewer-cars-isn%E2%80%99t-just-millennials
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-03-29T00:00:00-04:00">Tuesday, March 29, 2016</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p>New transportation options are making it easier for people to ride public transit more and thus, own fewer cars.</p>
<p>At the beginning of this year, Lyft (a popular ridesharing service) announced that transit stops were the most popular destination for riders in 2015.<sup>1</sup> It seemed people were use ridesharing services to cover the “first and last mile” between their destination and transit.</p>
<p>Now, a new report from the American Public Transportation Association shows that shared transportation services are indeed enabling people to use transit more, own fewer cars, and even save money on transportation. Among all share services, public transportation was the most popular, followed by bikesharing, ridesharing (e.g., Uber and Lyft), and carsharing (e.g., Zipcar and car2go).<sup>2</sup></p>
<p>Interestingly, the <strong>most frequent users of new shared transportation services own cars at less than half the rate of people who only used public transportation. </strong>And this isn’t just a trend amongst young people -- the average age of those surveyed in the study was 41.<sup>3</sup></p>
<p>The report also found that new forms of shared transportation services are not replacing public transportation, but rather supplementing it. If technology is making it easier to live with fewer or no cars by increasing access to public transportation and filling in at times or in places where public transportation is not available, the potential impacts on our entire transportation system are huge.<sup>4</sup></p>
<p>At both the state and national level, we need to reorient our transportation spending away from building more and wider highways and increase investment in public transportation. Building more highways will only lead to more driving -- increasing pollution, associated health costs, and environmental degradation; it’s an unsustainable option. With the growing popularity of shared transportation services, it is even more important that we increase access to transportation options that Americans increasingly want to use.</p>
<p>However, these new technologies, the same ones that are enabling this shared mobility revolution, present an even greater opportunity. Rather than just supplementing or complementing public transit, what if shared or on-demand mobility became an <em>extension</em> of public transit. In fact, some transit agencies have already begun to explore such an extension, testing what closer collaboration might look like between shared services and transit.<sup>5</sup> Shared transportation services are already making it easier for people to own fewer cars, and with greater integration and further technological revolutions on the horizon (read self-driving cars), car ownership could even be a thing of the past in some cities.</p>
<div>
<p> </p>
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><p><sup>1</sup> Fortune, “<a href="http://fortune.com/2015/12/29/lyftie-awards-2015/">Lyft Highlights Most Popular Drop-Off Locations Across America</a>,” December 29, 2015.<sup><br />
2</sup> APTA, “<a href="http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTA-Shared-Mobility.pdf">Shared Mobility and the Transformation of Public Transit</a>,” March 2016.<br /><sup>3</sup> KQED, “<a href="http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/03/15/many-lyft-and-uber-riders-also-use-public-transit-study-says">Many Lyft and Uber Riders Also Use Public Transit, Study Says</a>,” March 15, 2016.<br /><sup>4</sup> APTA, “<a href="http://www.publictransportation.org/news/facts/Pages/default.aspx">Facts at a Glance</a>,” 2016.<br /><sup>5</sup> City Lab, “<a href="http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2016/02/kansas-city-bridj-microtransit/462615/">Kansas City Is Embarking on a Great Microtransit Experiment</a>,” February 17, 2016.</p>
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<a href="/topics/transportation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Transportation</a> </li>
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Tue, 29 Mar 2016 19:44:57 +0000sdoyle47501 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/blogs/blog/usp/owning-fewer-cars-isn%E2%80%99t-just-millennials#comments12 of America's Biggest Highway Boondoggleshttps://pennpirgedfund.org/media/ctp/12-americas-biggest-highway-boondoggles
<div class="field field-name-field-mediahit-organization field-type-text field-label-hidden">
PIRG
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<div class="field field-name-field-mediahit-source field-type-text field-label-hidden">
City Lab
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<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-01-20T00:00:00-05:00">Wednesday, January 20, 2016</span>
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<div class="field field-name-field-mediahit-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Eric Jaffe</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div id="article-body">
<div>
<p>When Texas expanded the Katy Freeway in Houston a few years back, the expectation was that making the massive road even wider would relieve traffic. Some $2.8 billion later, the 26-lane interstate laid claim to being the <a href="http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/news/article/Bragging-rights-or-embarrassment-Katy-Freeway-at-6261429.php">“world's widest freeway”</a>—but the drivers who commuted along it every day were no better off. More lanes <a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/12/10-tired-traffic-myths-that-didnt-get-a-rest-in-2015/422274/">simply invited more cars</a>, and by 2014, morning and evening travel times had increased by <a href="http://cityobservatory.org/reducing-congestion-katy-didnt/">30 and 55 percent</a>, respectively, over 2011.</p>
<p>The lesson of the Katy Freeway is precisely the one that U.S. PIRG hopes to convey in its new report, <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/reports/usp/highway-boondoggles-2">“Highway Boondoggles 2,”</a> the sequel to a 2014 effort. Given that expanding highways at great public cost doesn’t improve rush-hour traffic, there are better ways to spend this money, argue report authors Jeff Inglis of Frontier Group and John C. Olivieri of U.S. PIRG. They identify a dozen road projects, costing $24 billion in all, that are “representative” of the problem:</p>
<blockquote><p>"America does not have the luxury of wasting tens of billions of dollars on new highways of questionable value. State and federal decision-makers should reevaluate the need for the projects profiled in this report and others that no longer make sense in an era of changing transportation needs."</p></blockquote>
<p>There are plenty of powerful trends to back this position. The Highway Trust Fund and <a href="http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/07/18-reasons-america-should-adopt-a-per-mile-driving-fee/397331/">can’t sustain</a> current spending levels. Driving trends across the U.S. <a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/03/driving-in-america-is-approaching-a-new-normal/388421/">have plateaued</a>. Climate concerns demand prioritizing projects that <a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/07/transit-projects-are-about-to-get-much-much-easier-in-california/374049/">reduce vehicle miles</a>. The connection between road expansion and economic development, once taken as a given, seems <a href="http://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=1239652">more</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X1530024X">more</a> tenuous—with little opportunity for new access in mature corridors, and lesser need for travel in the digital age.</p>
<p>The case is bolstered by the fact that there’s a natural outlet for all that highway expansion money: <a href="http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/02/americas-infrastructure-crisis-is-really-a-maintenance-crisis/385452/">road maintenance</a>, which everyone agrees is vital and urgent, especially for America’s crumbling bridges. There are also far better ways to handle congestion—namely, setting a price for traffic during the peak periods. The point is not so much that no new road should ever be built, but that highway expansion should be a last resort instead of the immediate instinct.</p>
<p>The report is worth a full read, but here’s a taste of the 12 projects it spotlights.</p>
<h3><strong>1. I-95 widening (Connecticut): </strong>$11.2 billion</h3>
<p>This project is part of a 30-year, $100 billion plan transportation package designed to improve many travel modes across the state. But while traffic in the metro New York region is obviously awful, experts have been saying for years that expanding I-95 isn’t the answer—something one Connecticut state planner <a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/11/californias-dot-admits-that-more-roads-mean-more-traffic/415245/">echoed in October</a>: “You can’t build your way out of congestion.” A better focus is improving Metro North rail service in the corridor or charging road fees during rush-hour (which could be reinvested in the system).</p>
<h3><strong>2. Tampa Bay Express Lanes (Florida): </strong>$3.3 billion</h3>
<p>Plans to build an interstate bypass near Tampa were approved back in 1996, but owing in part to local opposition they never materialized. That changed in May 2015, when the project was bundled into a larger interstate project known as the I-4 “Ultimate” expansion. Inglis and Olivieri note that the Tampa city council voted against the express lanes in June, but the state has subsequently given clear signs that the plans are moving forward.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/01/I4Ultimate_20150217_Groundbreaking_IMGP6769/96b0ab36e.jpg" alt="" width="440" height="265" />Shovels are lined up for a groundbreaking of Florida’s I-4 “Ultimate” highway. (<a href="http://i4ultimate.com/news-media-resources/photos/">I4 Ultimate</a>)</p>
<h3><strong>3. State Highway 45 Southwest (Texas): </strong>$109 million</h3>
<p>This planned four-lane toll road near Austin, Texas, is not only likely to draw more traffic to a congested corridor but raises significant environmental and public health concerns. Case in point, via Inglis and Olivieri: “nearly all of the road’s planned route crosses above the Edwards Aquifer, which provides drinking water for 2 million Texans.” As an alternative outlet for the funding, they point to 21 “structurally deficient” bridges located throughout the region.</p>
<h3><strong>4. San Gabriel Valley Route 710 tunnel (California): </strong>$3.2-$5.6 billion</h3>
<p>This Los Angeles County highway link, tossed around for half a century, got new life with a local long-term funding measure in 2008. Officials studied four project options for the corridor—including BRT and light rail—but ultimately went with the most expensive one: a potentially double-decker freeway tunnel. The effort would seemingly violate the state’s emerging mandate against projects that increase vehicle miles, and a five-city alliance is calling for a new report examining the options.</p>
<h3><strong>5. I-70 East widening (Colorado): </strong>$58 million</h3>
<p>The I-70 viaduct that cuts through Denver and dates back to 1964 clearly needs an overhaul: despite heavy repairs in 1997, the bridge is considered “structurally deficient” and it’s time has come. But local officials also plan to use the viaduct reconstruction to widen the highway from eight to 10 lanes. An expert review panel raised concerns that outdated traffic models informed that decision, and the project also raises environmental justice concerns given its location in a disadvantaged area.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/01/5606162304_d40846d627_z/5ed4bf8ff.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="267" />A view beneath the I-70 viaduct in Denver in 2011. (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/denverjeffrey/5606162304/">Jeffrey Beall / Flickr</a>)</p>
<h3><strong>6. I-77 Express Lanes (North Carolina): </strong>$647 million</h3>
<p>This express lane project represents a public-private partnership, with a company called Mobility Partners managing the new priced lanes. But the 50-year deal leaves a lot to be desired, according to Inglis and Olivieri. As is the case with many flawed PPP contracts, the state has to compensate the company for any other projects in the region that could potentially divert traffic from the road and thus drain toll revenue—including more free lanes or expanded transit options.</p>
<h3><strong>7. Puget Sound Gateway (Washington): </strong>$2.8-$3.1 billion</h3>
<p>The gateway plan would add two express lanes to I-5 between Seattle and Tacoma. But Inglis and Olivieri question its value from a traffic perspective—pointing to data showing that vehicle miles have flattened out on many stretches of I-5, and that building the new project would increase congestion by 2030. Instead they suggest repairing all of the state’s deficient bridges at a cost of $1.2 billion, which would even leave some money left over for other projects.</p>
<h3><strong>8. State Highway 249 extension (Texas): </strong>$337-$389 million</h3>
<p>In April 2015, Texas opened a six-lane, six-mile tolled expansion of S.H. 249. Now the state wants to extend the project another 30 miles in two phases. Officials justify the new corridor as necessary given population growth, but Inglis and Olivieri counter that its traffic projection relied on outdated trends and that this area already suffers from air quality concerns. They also note that officials failed to truly consider alternatives to a road expansion.</p>
<h3><strong>9. U.S. 20 widening (Iowa): </strong>$286 million</h3>
<p>This project would widen U.S. 20 from two to four lanes over a 40-mile stretch of rural territory. The spending would seem to violate a new contract with voters who agreed to increase their gas taxes in 2015 provided the money went toward “critical road and bridge construction projects that significantly extend the life of such assets.” Despite that mandate, Inglis and Olivieri write that three-quarters of the funding pile is going toward highway maintenance instead of expansion, with U.S. 20 widening leading the way.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/01/3754527575_381cc5d3d6_z/c8c100824.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="251" />U.S. 20 in Iowa on a congested day in 2000. (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rt48state/3754527575">Alexander Rabb / Flickr</a>)</p>
<h3><strong>10. Paseo del Volcan extension (New Mexico): </strong>$96 million</h3>
<p>Paseo del Volcan would build a new road on the outskirts of Albuquerque as a conduit for a sprawling residential development called Santolina, according to Inglis and Olivieri. “That project has drawn significant criticism from residents concerned about how much water the project would require,” they write. The plan seems to be preferred over a cheaper effort to upgrade the existing road network.</p>
<h3><strong>11. Portsmouth bypass (Ohio): </strong>$429 million</h3>
<p>Inglis and Olivieri say this 16-mile, four-lane highway scored “near the bottom” of the state’s priority list. Yet in June 2015, preliminary work began. The project’s potential impact on traffic is questionable at best: average annual vehicle miles in the county fell from 2004 to 2014, and officials claim “no transportation outcomes or benefits, apart from allowing drivers to avoid several traffic lights,” according to the boondoggle report.</p>
<h3><strong>12. Mon-Fayette Expressway extension (Pennsylvania): </strong>$1.7 billion</h3>
<p>Original plans for this new highway, which had it connecting into downtown Pittsburgh, were scaled back out of concerns over social and environmental damage. That’s great for the city, but it means the expressway itself offers transportation access “little better than that which existed before the project,” write Inglis and Olivieri. Meanwhile Pennsylvania has more than 5,000 deficient bridges, with the second-highest percentage of poor spans in the U.S.</p>
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<a href="/topics/transportation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Transportation</a>
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A new U.S. PIRG report names names.
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Wed, 20 Jan 2016 21:32:58 +0000sdoyle46031 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/media/ctp/12-americas-biggest-highway-boondoggles#commentsPittsburgh Region Mon-Fayette Expressway Proposal Makes National List of Highway Boondoggles, Wastes $1.7 Billion in Taxpayer Dollarshttps://pennpirgedfund.org/news/pap/pittsburgh-region-mon-fayette-expressway-proposal-makes-national-list-highway-boondoggles
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For Immediate Release
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00">Tuesday, January 19, 2016</span>
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<p>Contact:<br />
Michael Roles<br />
PennPIRG Field Organizer<br />
215-732-3747<br />
mroles [at] pennpirg [dot] org</p>
<p>A new study by the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group (PennPIRG) Education Fund and Frontier Group identifies 12 of the most wasteful highway expansion projects across the country, slated to collectively cost at least $24 billion.</p>
<p>Making the list of national highway boondoggles is the proposed Mon-Fayette Expressway Extension – a proposed 14-mile stretch which would run through Allegheny County up to Monroeville – expected to cost $1.7 billion. The new study details how despite America’s massive repair and maintenance backlog, and in defiance of America’s changing transportation needs, state governments across the country, including Pennsylvania’s, continue to spend billions each year on new and wider highways. The study shows how some of these highway projects are outright boondoggles.</p>
<p>“Pennsylvania is pushing forward with the Mon-Fayette Expressway extension, even after criticism that the road would decrease—rather than increase—the likelihood of economic recovery in the area,” said Michael Roles, PennPIRG Field Organizer. “Communities are calling for investment in transit, biking, and walking as well as improvements to their existing roads. Given Pennsylvania’s recent budget impasse, it’s surprising that our state wouldn’t be more careful about public spending,” noted Roles.</p>
<p>In 2015, Wilkins Township formally requested that the $1.7 billion be diverted for public transit investment.</p>
<p>The most recent federal <a href="https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/no10/defbr14.cfm">data show</a>s that Pennsylvania has over 5,000 structurally deficient bridges. At the same time, other <a href="http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/repair-priorities-2014.pdf">data</a> also show 26 percent of major roads are in poor condition.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Mon-Fayette project fails to account for changing transportation trends, especially among Millennials. “America’s long-term travel needs are changing, especially among <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/reports/usp/millennials-motion">Millennials</a>, who are driving fewer miles, getting driver licenses in fewer numbers, and expressing greater preferences to live in areas where they do not need to use a car often,” said Tony Dutzik, Senior Policy Analyst at Frontier Group. “Despite the fact that Millennials are the nation’s largest generation, and the unquestioned consumers of tomorrow’s transportation system, Pennsylvania is failing to adequately respond to these changing trends.” he added.</p>
<p>The study recommends that Pennsylvania and other states:</p>
<ol><li>Adopt “fix-it-first” policies that reorient transportation funding away from highway expansion and toward repair of existing roads and bridges;</li>
<li>Invest in transportation solutions that reduce the need for costly and disruptive highway expansion projects by improving and expanding public transit, biking, and walking options;</li>
<li>Give priority to funding transportation projects that reduce the number of vehicle-miles people travel each year, thereby also reducing air pollution, carbon emissions, and future road repair and maintenance needs;</li>
<li>Include future maintenance costs, a range of potential future housing and transportation trends, and the availability of new transportation options such as car-sharing, bike-sharing, ride-sharing, and transit in transportation project selection decisions;</li>
<li>Invest in research and data collection to better track, and more aptly react, to ongoing shifts in how people travel.</li>
</ol><p>The report also looks back at the <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/reports/usp/highway-boondoggles">11 highway boondoggles identified last year</a>. Since the original report came out, several states have revisited plans to expand and build new highways, realizing that the money could be more wisely spent elsewhere. For example, the Trinity Parkway project in Dallas has been revised from a six-lane road to a more limited 4-lane road, and the original proposal to create a double-decker tunnel for I-94 in Milwaukee has been postponed for the foreseeable future. Similarly, the Illiana Expressway, a proposed $1.3 billion to $2.8 billion toll-way intended to stretch from I-55 in Illinois to I-65 in Indiana, has been placed on indefinite hold.</p>
<p>“Investing so heavily in new and wider highways at a time when so much of our existing infrastructure is in terrible disrepair is akin to putting an extension on your house while the roof is leaking. It just doesn’t make any sense,” said Roles.</p>
<p>The report can be read at this link <a href="http://pennpirg.org/reports/pap/highway-boondoggles-2">here</a>.</p>
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<p align="center"><em>PennPIRG Education Fund works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer meaningful opportunities for civic participation.</em></p>
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<a href="/topics/transportation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Transportation</a>
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New Report Identifies 12 of the Worst Highway Projects Across the Country
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PennPIRG Education Fund
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<p>The new study details how despite America’s massive repair and maintenance backlog, and in defiance of America’s changing transportation needs, state governments across the country, including Pennsylvania’s, continue to spend billions each year on new and wider highways.</p>
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Tue, 19 Jan 2016 15:10:44 +0000sdoyle45941 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/news/pap/pittsburgh-region-mon-fayette-expressway-proposal-makes-national-list-highway-boondoggles#commentsHighway Boondoggles 2https://pennpirgedfund.org/reports/pap/highway-boondoggles-2
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Release date:
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00">Tuesday, January 19, 2016</span>
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<a href="/news/pap/pittsburgh-region-mon-fayette-expressway-proposal-makes-national-list-highway-boondoggles">Pittsburgh Region Mon-Fayette Expressway Proposal Makes National List of Highway Boondoggles, Wastes $1.7 Billion in Taxpayer Dollars</a>
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<p>America is in a long-term transportation funding crisis. Our roads, bridges and transit systems are falling into disrepair. Demand for public transportation, as well as safe bicycle and pedestrian routes, is growing. Traditional sources of transportation revenue, especially the gas tax, are not keeping pace with the needs. Even with the recent passage of a five-year federal transportation bill, the future of transportation funding remains uncertain.</p>
<p><strong>Twelve proposed highway projects across the country – slated to cost at least $24 billion – exemplify the need for a fresh approach to transportation spending.</strong> These projects, some originally proposed decades ago, are either intended to address problems that do not exist or have serious negative impacts on surrounding communities that undercut their value. They are but a sampling of many questionable highway projects nationwide that could cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars to build, and many more billions over the course of upcoming decades to maintain.</p>
<p>America does not have the luxury of wasting tens of billions of dollars on new highways of questionable value. State and federal decision-makers should reevaluate the need for the projects profiled in this report and others that no longer make sense in an era of changing transportation needs. State decision-makers should use the flexibility provided in the new federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) to focus investment on real transportation solutions, including repairing potholes and bridges and investing in public transportation and bicycling and walking options.</p>
<p><strong>Americans’ transportation needs are changing. America’s transportation spending priorities aren’t.</strong></p>
<ul><li><strong>State governments continue to spend billions on highway expansion projects that fail to solve congestion</strong>.</li>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;"><li>In Texas, for example, a $2.8 billion project widened Houston’s Katy Freeway to 26 lanes, making it the widest freeway in the world. But commutes got longer after its 2012 opening: By 2014 morning commuters were spending 30 percent more time in their cars, and afternoon commuters 55 percent more time.</li>
<li>A $1 billion widening of I-405 in Los Angeles that disrupted commutes for five years – including two complete shutdowns of a 10-mile stretch of one of the nation’s busiest highways – had no demonstrable success in reducing congestion. Just five months after the widened road reopened in 2014, the rush-hour trip took longer than it had while construction was still ongoing.</li>
</ul><li><strong>Highway expansion saddles future generations with expensive maintenance needs, at a time when America’s existing highways are already crumbling. </strong></li>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;"><li>Between 2009 and 2011, states spent $20.4 billion annually for expansion or construction projects totaling 1 percent of the country’s road miles, according to Smart Growth America and Taxpayers for Common Sense. During the same period, they spent just $16.5 billion on repair and preservation of existing highways, which are the other 99 percent of American roads.</li>
<li>According to the Federal Highway Administration, the United States added more lane-miles of roads between 2005 and 2013 – a period in which per-capita driving declined – than in the two decades between 1984 and 2004.</li>
<li>Federal, state and local governments spent roughly as much money on highway expansion projects in 2010 as they did a decade earlier, despite lower per-capita driving.</li>
</ul><li><strong>Americans’ long-term travel needs are changing.</strong></li>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;"><li>In 2014, transit ridership in the U.S. hit its highest point since 1956. And recent years have seen the emergence of new forms of mobility such as carsharing, bikesharing and ridesharing whose influence is just beginning to be felt.</li>
<li>According to an Urban Land Institute study in 2015, more than half of Americans – and nearly two-thirds of Millennials, the country’s largest generation – want to live “in a place where they do not need to use a car very often.” Young Americans drove 23 percent fewer miles on average in 2009 than they did in 2001.</li>
</ul></ul><p><strong>The Federal Highway Trust Fund and many state transportation funds are increasingly dependent on the failing gas tax and infusions of general fund spending to sustain transportation investments.</strong></p>
<ul><li>The Federal Highway Trust Fund – once supported entirely by the gas tax – has been subsidized from general tax revenues since the late 2000s. Federal highway spending is projected to exceed revenues in every year through 2025, according to Congressional Budget Office projections. (See Figure ES-1.) The FAST Act transportation bill approved in December 2015 transfers an additional $70 billion from the country’s general funds to the Highway Trust Fund.</li>
<li>Bailing out the Highway Trust Fund with general government funds cost $65 billion between 2008 and 2014, including $22 billion in 2014 alone. Making up the projected shortfall through 2025 would cost an additional $147 billion.</li>
</ul><address>Figure ES-1. Federal Highway Trust Fund Highway Excise Tax and User Fee Revenues and Highway Expenditures, 2000-2013 (actual) and 2014-2025 (projected)</address>
<p><img alt="" class="media-image" height="464" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="600" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://pennpirgedfund.org/sites/pirg/files/FigES1-Fig3-Spending-fe210-Act_Proj-2_1.jpg" /></p>
<p><strong>States continue to spend tens of billions of dollars on new or expanded highways that are often not justified in terms of their benefits to the transportation system, or that pose serious harm to surrounding communities. </strong>In some cases, officials are proposing to tack expensive highway expansions onto necessary repair and reconstruction projects, while other projects represent entirely new construction. Many of these projects began or were first proposed years or decades ago, are based on long-outdated data, and have continued moving forward with no re-evaluation of their necessity or benefits.</p>
<p><strong>Questionable projects poised to absorb billions of scarce transportation dollars include:</strong></p>
<ul><li><strong>I-95 widening, Connecticut, $11.2 billion</strong> – Widening the highway across the entire state of Connecticut would do little to solve congestion along one of the nation’s most high-intensity travel corridors.</li>
<li><strong>Tampa Bay Express Lanes, Florida, $3.3 billion</strong> – State officials admit that a decades-old plan to construct toll lanes would not solve the region’s problems with congestion, while displacing critical community job-training and recreational facilities.</li>
<li><strong>State Highway 45 Southwest, Texas, $109 million</strong> – Building a new, four-mile, four-lane toll road would increase traffic on one of the most congested highways in Austin, and increase water pollution in an environmentally sensitive area critical for recharging an aquifer that provides drinking water to 2 million Texans.</li>
<li><strong>San Gabriel Valley Route 710 tunnel, California, $3.2 billion to $5.6 billion</strong> – State officials are considering the most expensive, most polluting and least effective option for addressing the area’s transportation problems: a double bore tunnel.</li>
<li><strong>I-70 East widening, Colorado, $58 million</strong> – While replacing a crumbling viaduct that needs to be addressed, Colorado proposes wasting millions of dollars widening the road and increasing pollution in the surrounding community.</li>
<li><strong>I-77 Express Lanes, North Carolina, $647 million</strong> – A project that state criteria say does not merit funding is moving forward because a private company is willing to contribute; taxpayers will still be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.</li>
<li><strong>Puget Sound Gateway, Washington, $2.8 billion to $3.1 billion</strong> – The state is proposing to spend billions of dollars on a highway to relieve congestion in an area where traffic has not grown for more than a decade, and where other pressing needs for transportation funding exist.</li>
<li><strong>State Highway 249 extension, Texas, $337 million to $389 million</strong> – The Texas Department of Transportation relies on outdated traffic projections to justify building a 30-mile six-lane highway through an area already suffering from air quality problems.</li>
<li><strong>U.S. 20 widening, Iowa, $286 million</strong> – Hundreds of millions of dollars that could pay for much-needed repairs to existing roads are being diverted to widen a road that does not need expansion to handle future traffic.</li>
<li><strong>Paseo del Volcan extension, New Mexico, $96 million</strong> – A major landholder is hoping to get taxpayer funding to build a road that would open thousands of acres of desert to sprawling development.</li>
<li><strong>Portsmouth bypass, Ohio, $429 million</strong> – Despite roads across Ohio being in dire need of repair, the state Department of Transportation is embarking upon its most expensive project ever: building a new road to bypass a 20,000-person city where driving is decreasing.</li>
<li><strong>Mon-Fayette Expressway extension, Pennsylvania, $1.7 billion</strong> – A new toll road long criticized because it would damage communities is moving forward in an area where residents are calling instead for repairs to existing roads and investment in transit improvements.</li>
</ul><p> </p>
<p><strong>Several states are re-evaluating the wisdom of boondoggle highway projects – either shelving them entirely or forcing revisions to the projects.</strong></p>
<ul><li>The <strong>Illiana Expressway</strong> was a proposed $1.3 billion to $2.8 billion tollway intended to stretch from I-55 in Illinois to I-65 in Indiana. Faced with a budget deficit, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner suspended the project in January 2015 pending a review; in a lawsuit filed in May 2015, a coalition of environmental advocacy groups said the road’s federal approval had been based on bad population and financial projections, and did not properly consider the potential environmental damage. In June 2015, a federal judge agreed, and invalidated the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the project.</li>
<li>The <strong>Trinity Parkway</strong> in Dallas was once a $1.5 billion proposal to build a six-lane, nine-mile tolled highway along the river in the middle of the city. Under fire from the community, including people who had first conceived of the road project, the city council voted unanimously in August 2015 to limit city spending to a reduced version of the project, a four-lane highway without tolls. It is still unclear, however, whether the smaller highway will alleviate the concerns raised by the original proposal.</li>
<li>A proposal to <strong>widen I-94 in Milwaukee</strong> has been denied funding by state lawmakers in the wake of community advocacy opposing the project. An analysis by a group called 1000 Friends of Wisconsin found the state Department of Transportation systematically overestimates traffic projections. WISPIRG Foundation has proposed improving the area’s mobility with more effective and less costly options that state officials ignored.</li>
<li>An <strong>extension to an existing toll road in southern California</strong> was denied on the grounds that it, and a future additional extension, would threaten local water resources. Other toll roads in the region have failed to attract enough traffic to meet revenue expectations, and data suggest traffic is not growing as quickly as officials had projected.</li>
</ul><p> </p>
<p>The diversion of funds to highway boondoggle projects is especially harmful given that there is an <strong>enormous need for investment in repairs to existing roads, as well as transit improvements and investments in bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure</strong>. Federal and state governments should eliminate or downsize unnecessary or low-priority highway projects to free up resources for true transportation priorities. Under existing federal funding guidelines, they have the flexibility to do this with little or no need for additional approval.</p>
<p>Specifically, policymakers should:<strong></strong></p>
<ul><li><strong>Invest in transportation solutions that</strong> <strong>address congestion more cheaply and effectively than highway expansion.</strong> Investments in public transportation, changes in land-use policy, road pricing measures, and technological measures that help drivers avoid peak-time traffic, for instance, can reduce the need for costly and disruptive highway expansion projects.</li>
</ul><ul><li><strong>Adopt fix-it-first policies</strong> that reorient transportation funding away from highway expansion and toward repair of existing roads and investment in other transportation options. As first suggested by Smart Growth America and Taxpayers for Common Sense, this includes more closely tying states’ allocations of federal transportation funding to infrastructure conditions, encouraging states to ensure existing roads and bridges are properly maintained before using funds for new construction or expansion projects. To most effectively meet this goal, government agencies should provide greater public transparency about spending plans, including an accounting of future maintenance expenses.</li>
<li><strong>Give priority funding to transportation projects that reduce growth in vehicle-miles traveled</strong>, to account for the public health, environmental and global warming benefits resulting from reduced driving.</li>
<li><strong>Analyze the need for projects using the most recent data and up-to-date transportation system models</strong>. Planning should include full cost-benefit analyses, including the costs to maintain newly constructed highways. Models should reflect a range of potential future trends for housing and transportation, incorporate the availability of new transportation options (such as carsharing, bikesharing and ridesharing), and include consideration of transit options. Just because a project has been in the planning pipeline for several years does not mean it deserves to receive scarce taxpayer dollars.</li>
<li><strong>Apply the same scrutiny to public-private partnerships</strong> as to those funded solely by taxpayers.</li>
<li><strong>Revise transportation forecasting models</strong> to ensure that all evaluations of proposed projects use up-to-date travel information.</li>
<li><strong>Invest in research and data collection</strong> to better track and react to ongoing shifts in how people travel.</li>
</ul><p>CLARIFICATION: The original version of this report states that, under the terms of the contract between the private developer of North Carolina’s I-77 Express Lanes project and the state of North Carolina, the state must compensate the developer in the event that new transportation projects are built that might divert traffic away from the toll lanes. The contract does require the state to compensate the private operator in the event that toll revenues fall short of specific thresholds, a possible result of expanding transportation infrastructure elsewhere. However, the construction of new transportation infrastructure does not, in and of itself, appear to trigger a compensation event.</p>
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More Wasted Money and America&#039;s Transportation Future
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Tue, 19 Jan 2016 00:30:42 +0000sdoyle45911 at https://pennpirgedfund.orghttps://pennpirgedfund.org/reports/pap/highway-boondoggles-2#comments